Vibrating ripper plow

ABSTRACT

In an earth-working implement, a single ripper blade is vibrated in a horizontal direction direction normal to the of draft. of draft. The ripper blade to the mounted to the draft the blade to permit the blade to pivot about an upright itself the upright axis itself being permitted to vibrate horizontally normal to the direction of draft. Hydraulic means are provided to force the ripper blade downward.

United States Patent 1191 Rogers et a1.

1 51 Oct. 1, 1974 VIBRATING RIPPER PLOW [76] Inventors: Thelmer A.Rogers, PO. Drawer 1589, Lubbock, Tex. 79408; Thelmer A. Rogers,Lubbock, Tex.

[22] Filed: May 9, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 358,604

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.626,478, March 28, 1967, abandoned, Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.626,478, March 28, 1967, abandoned.

[52] US, Cl.....'.;..;...'. 172/439, 37/DIG. 1 8, 172/484 [51] Int. Cl...;LLI....'..Ll.Z'JT..TYJLJE AQIP 2l043 [58] Field of Search .:.172/439,443; 37/DIG. 18

[ 5 61 3 in References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,864,639 6/1932Crezee 1 7 2/ 443 2,765,721 10/1956 Smith 172 4'43 3,056,458 10/1962Gray 1721 439 2; 3,116,939 1/1964 ward 172/43'9X 3,232,358 2/1966Heiberg 172/742 3,431,980 3/1969 Singer 172/40 3,502,152 3/19701611115611...:.;;i;;;,....;.,;:;;;.."1mm X 3,583,494 6/1971 Thompson eta]. 172/439 X 3,618,237 11/1971 Davis 37/D1G. 18 3,638,339 2/1972 Vik37/D1G. 18 3,750,757 8/1973 Saetti 172/439 X roliiroi frnri irs' OR mucmows 659,252 4/1938 Germany 172/110 1,197,420 7/1970 Great Britain172/439 m y ExaminerClyde I. cougheno ir l Attorney, Agent, orFirmWende1l W. Coffee [5 7] ABSTRACT In an earth-working implement, asingle ripper blade is vibrated in a horizontal direction. directionnormal to the of draft. of draft. The ripper blade to the mounted to thedraft the blade to permit the blade to pivot about an upright itself theupright. axis itself being permitted to vibrate horizontally normal tothe direction of draft. Hydraulic means are provided to force the ripperblade downward.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures VIBRATING RIPPER PLOW CROSS-REFERENCE TORELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of myprevious application filed Mar. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 626,478, nowabandoned which itself was co-pending with my patent applications: FiledApr. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 445,156, issued Pat. No. 3,396,804; Filed Sept.29, 1966, Ser. No. 583,030, issued Pat. No. 3,448,813; Filed Jan. 24,1967, Ser. No. 611,401, issued Pat. No. 3,508,411.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to ripper plows and more particularly to vibrating single bladerippers used for cable laying, excavating, etc.

2. Description of the Prior Art The pulling of ripper blades whichextend into the ground 2 and A. to 3 and /2 feet is a difficult chore,requiring considerable power and weight upon the draft vehicle.

Vibrating rippers and vibrating single blade rippers for reducing thedraft required to pull them were known to the art before this invention.

Vibrators having two shafts geared together by spur gears or chains andeach shaft carrying an eccentric weight are known to the prior art. Itis known to the prior art that by the timing of the gears andtheplacement of the weights that the resultant vibration can be madesubstantially unidirectional. I.e., the vibration can be made to followa single line, elg., a horizontal line normal to the direction of draftor a horizontal line aligned with the direction of draft or a verticalline. The vibration can be made to follow any one of these lines andhave substantially no vibratory force outside of this single direction.

Considerable problems have been encountered when vibrating the ripperblade to isolate the vibrations from the draft vehicle and to force theripper blade into the ground while still achieving the isolation. Thevibrations must be isolated from the draft vehicle or the draft vehicleis severely damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1. New and Different Function I have found thatif the ripper blade is vibrated about a vertical axis which is quiteclose to the ripper blade, substantial benefits are achieved. I achievethis particular vibration by mounting a ripper pivot having an uprightaxis close to the ripper itself. However, I also mount the ripper pivotitself for horizontal lateral vibration. 1.e., the ripper pivot ismounted so that it bodily may move from side to side. Also, hydrauliccylinders are used to force the framework carrying the ripper pivotdownward so that the ripper plow is forced into the earth.

2. Objects of the Invention An object of this invention is to vibrate asingle n'pper blade for plowing deep trenches within the earth.

Other objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy,compact, durable, simple, safe, efficient, versatile, and reliable, yetinexpensive and easy to manufacture, adjust, operate, and maintain.

Further objects are to achieve the above with a method that isversatile, rapid, efficient, and inexpensive and does not requireskilled people to adjust, operate, and maintain.

The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, uses,and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the followingdescription and from the accompanying drawing, the different views ofwhich are not necessarily to the same scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of anembodiment of this invention showing a portion of the draft vehicle towhich it is attached.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As seen in the drawing, thisearth-working implement is adapted to be attached to a draft vehicle inthe form of track laying tractor 10. Frame 12 is attached to the rear ofthe tractor 10. The frame 12 includes plate 14 attached to the back ofthe tractor. It may be seen that the plate is vertical and normal to thedirection of draft. The direction of draft is obviously forward for thetractor. It is illustrated by Arrow A.

Two posts 16 are pivoted by pivots 18 to the plate 14. Each pivotincludes ears attached to the plate 14 and tubes attached to the postwith a bolt therein. The axis of the bolt and therefore the axis of thepivot is vertical or upright. Each post includes two straps 20 which arevertically oriented and spaced one from the other. Each arm. 22 ispivoted by arm pivot 24 to a post 16, each pivot 24 having a horizontalaxis normal to the direction of draft. The pivot 24 at the post is onthe forward end of the arm 22.

Yoke 26 is attached by universal pivots 28 to the rear or back or afterend of the arms 22. By the term universal pivot I mean a pivot thatallows for both vertical and horizontal motion. Universal pivots may beobtained by having two pivots, one with a vertical axis and .one with ahorizontal'axis or by having a ball socket joint. I prefer to use a ballsocket type universal pivot at the rear of each of the arms 22 to attachto the yoke 26.

Ripper pivot 30 at the middle of the yoke 26 attaches ripper holder 32to the yoke 26. The ripper pivot 30 is a particularly heavy duty pivotwhich is capable of transmitting the entire draft of the tractor 10 toripper blade 34. It may be seen that the blade 34 has a length which isvertical and a width which extends in the direction of draft and it willbe moved through the earth in a direction of the forward edge of theripper blade. In addition, the ripper pivot 30 is capable oftransmitting downward thrust to the ripper blade 34 or, also, upwardthrust to the ripper blade 34. In addition to these criteria, the ripperpivot 30 is capable of withstanding the vibratory forces and motionwhich will be imposed upon it.

The ripper pivot 30 has a vertical or upright axis in normal operation.It is described as an upright axis,

however, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that when theripper blade 34 is raised, the pivot axis at that time will be angledand perhaps more horizontal than vertical. However, in operation, it isdefinitely upright and it is illustrated as being vertical. The

ripper blade 34 is securely attached to the ripper holder 32. Vibrator36 is attached to the ripper holder 32, and, therefore, is attached orconnected to the ripper blade 34. The vibrator has two rotating shafts,each with eccentric weights thereon so it is a means for vibrating theblade 34 with an alternating force, the force being horizontal andnormal to the direction of draft. The shafts are rotated at a speed ofbetween 300 and 500 rpm so that the vibration frequency is between 300and 500 cycles per minute. The direction of the vibration is shown bydouble headed Arrow V.

The vibrator may be driven from any of several sources. I prefer to usehydraulic vibrator motor 38, which is conveniently attached to thevibrator housing itself. The hydraulic hoses supplying hydraulic fluidunder pressure to the motor 38 have not been shown for clarity.

The arms 22 may be raised and lowered about the arm pivots 24 by liftinghydraulic cylinders 40. One of the hydraulic cylinders 40 on each sideextends from an upper attachment at or near the top of the post 16 to anattachment on the arms 22 at about mid-point of the arms. It will beunderstood that the hydraulic cylinders 40 are connected by hydrauliclines to a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure. However, forclarity of the drawings, the hydraulic lines have not. been showninasmuch as they are so standard upon mechanical equipment of thisnature. It will be understood that the lifting hydraulic cylinders 40are double acting cylinders so they can force the ripper blade 34 intothe earth as well as lift it for transportation.

Erecting hydraulic cylinder 42 extends from the upper central area ofthe plate 14 to upper knee 44 on the top of the ripper holder 32. Sincethe knee 44 is attached to the holder, it is also attached to the ripperblade 34 and, therefore, may be thought of as a portion thereof. It willbe understood'that without a stiff or compression member extending tothe ripper holder 32 above the universal pivots 28, the ripper blade 34would not remain erect or in proper plowing position in the ground..Also, the digging angle of the blade may be adjusted by adjusting thelength of the hydraulic cylinder 42. The erecting cylinder 42isconnected to the top of the knee 44 by universal pivot 50. In thiscase, the pivot is in the form of two single pivots, one with a verticalaxis and the other with a horizontal axis. Likewise, the erectinghydraulic cylinder 42 is connected to the plate 14 by universal pivot52. Also, the hydraulic lines for the erecting hydraullic cylinder havenot been shown for clarity.

Furthermore, when the blade 34 is removed from the ground, if theerecting cylinder 42 is fully contracted,

ripper pivot 30. However, it will also be understood 6 that thevibration of the blade will not be limited to this and, furthermore, theripper pivot 30 itself will have translational vibratory motion in ahorizontal direction normal to the direction of draft. This is becauseposts 16 are pivoted to the plate 14 by the pivots 18 with an uprightaxis, therefore, the entire yoke 26 can move from side to side as seenby double headed Arrow Y. The pivots 28 are universal and, therefore,will permit limited side to side movement at the connection between thearms 22 and the yoke 26. By describing the particular principalvibrations, I do not intend to say there are not other vibrations.

The embodiment shown and described above is only exemplary. I do notclaim to have invented all the parts, elements or steps described.Various modifications can be made in the construction, material,arrangement, and operation, and still be within the scope of myinvention. The limits of the invention and the bounds of the patentprotection are measured by and defined in the following claims. Therestrictive description and drawing of the specific example above do notpoint out what an infringement of this patent would be, but are toenable the reader to make and use the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an earth-working implement having a. a single ripper blade havinglength and width b. extending with its length upright into the earth,

c. a frame to which the ripper blade is attached, and

d. draft means connected to the frame for moving the ripper bladethrough the earth in a direction of draft which is the direction of oneedge of the ripper blade;

e. The improvement comprising:

f. a ripper pivot having an upright axis interconnecting the blade andframe,

g. vibration means attached to the ripper blade for vibrating the bladewith an alternating force in a horizontal direction normal to thedirection of draft,

h. said frame forming a means i. for permitting vibratory horizontalmovment of the ripper pivot normal to the direction of draft, and

ii. for applying downward pressure to the ripper blade through theripper pivot,

j. said frame includes:

i. an upright plate normal to the direction of draft attached to thedraft means,

ii. a pair of parallel posts,

iii. each post pivoted to the plate by pivots with upright axes;

iv. an arm pivoted at its forward end to each post,

v. each arm pivoted to the post by a pivot with horizontal axis normalto the direction of draft,

vi. a lifting hydraulic cylinder extending from each post to said armconnected thereto to raise and lower the anns,

vii. a yoke connecting the after ends of the arms,

pneumatic tires attached to the ripper blade.

. e a a a:

claim 1 with an addi-

1. In an earth-working implement having a. a single ripper blade having length and width b. extending with its length upright into the earth, c. a frame to which the ripper blade is attached, and d. draft means connected to the frame for moving the ripper blade through the earth in a direction of draft which is the direction of one edge of the ripper blade; e. The improvement comprising: f. a ripper pivot having an upright axis interconnecting the blade and frame, g. vibration means attached to the ripper blade for vibrating the blade with an alternating force in a horizontal direction normal to the direction of draft, h. said frame forming a means i. for permitting vibratory horizontal movment of the ripper pivot normal to the direction of draft, and ii. for applying downward pressure to the ripper blade through the ripper pivot, j. said frame includes: i. an upright plate normal to the direction of draft attached to the draft means, ii. a pair of parallel posts, iii. each post pivoted to the plate by pivots with upright axes; iv. an arm pivoted at its forward end to each post, v. each arm pivoted to the post by a pivot with horizontal axis normal to the direction of draft, vi. a lifting hydraulic cylinder extending from each post to said arm connected thereto to raise and lower the arms, vii. a yoke connecting the after ends of the arms, viii. universal pivots connecting each arm to the yoke, ix. said ripper pivot on said yoke, and x. an erecting hydraulic cylinder extending from the plate to structure attached to the ripper blade.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 with an additional limitation of the erecting cylinder i. attached to plate by a universal pivot and ii. attached to the upper part of the ripper blade structure by a universal pivot.
 3. The invention as defined in claim 2 with an additional limitation of pneumatic tires attached to the ripper blade. 